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India Inc gives thumbs down to 8 per cent growth target

India Inc has given a big thumbs down to the government's slow pace of economic reforms with a majority of them believing that the eight per cent growth target set out for the Tenth Plan period is unachievable.

According to a survey conducted at the beginning of the World Economic Forum, in which more than 100 business leaders participated, only four per cent believed that India can achieve eight per cent growth by 2007, the end of the Tenth Plan period.

While 37 per cent pegged that growth rate at five per cent, 59 per cent pushed their expectations a little higher to six per cent.

Even though there was a positive response to future investments in the country, where 86 per cent responded in the positive, the slow pace of reforms clearly received the biggest beating.

A whopping 88 per cent respondents believed that the slow pace of reforms, in the current economic climate, would be a big disadvantage for the Indian economy in the future.

On whether India will exceed China's competitiveness in the next five years, as much as 94 per cent did not agree against a paltry six per cent who held positive hopes.

A complete 100 per cent unanimity was seen when asked whether privatization has had a positive impact on the Indian economy.

Also, 88 per cent of the respondents believed that the sector they were operating in would become internationally-competitive by the end of the Tenth Plan period.

A 92 per cent positive voting was also seen when asked whether regional cooperation was a key to further economic development.

On the positive side, 79 per cent respondents felt that the figure of 26 per cent population living below the poverty line would be reduced by the end of the next five years.

Also, more than half, 54 per cent, believed that their industry was not suffering from the current geopolitical uncertainties in the region, though 46 per cent still believed it to be the case.

Seventy-three per cent believed that the role of women in politics/business was a key to further economic progress and again, 95 per cent gave thumbs up when asked whether India had benefited from globalisation.

Asked whether Indian culture was exportable, 75 per cent responded in the positive while the rest in negative.

The respondents included business leaders not only from India but foreign delegates as well like NTPC chairman and managing director Chander Prakash Jain, Germany's Alliance AG vice president Heinz Dollberg and UK's Sagitta Asset Management chairman Lord Charles Powell.

UNI

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